Why the St. Louis Blues Will Prevail in Tight Wild Card Race Over Flames, Canucks, Utah HC
The St. Louis Blues are listed at value to make Playoffs despite four-point lead created by recent six-game winning streak
The St. Louis Blues are red hot right now with six straight wins that has lifted their record to an impressive 37-28-7 which gives them a four point lead over the next closest team in the Calgary Flames for the second wild card spot in the West. We took a look a couple weeks ago at the chances of Utah making a run at the final playoff spot as they had an easier schedule than most down this final stretch of the season.
However, it was the St. Louis Blues that cashed in on this narrative and has taken full advantage of an easier schedule to propel themselves firmly into the driver seat in a razor thin playoff race. Utah and the Canucks are just behind and the Flames and are still within reach of the Blues. The Minnesota Wild are four points ahead of the Blues with ten games left and we can look to pencil them in for a playoff berth.
Four teams fighting for one spot should make for a thrilling couple of weeks to end off this season but if you'd like to profit from this race, we already know who will prevail. The Blues have ten games left in their season and their remaining schedule should give them enough of an edge to keep their lead over the other contending teams and secure a playoff berth.
Despite their lead, St. Louis is listed with +108 odds to make the playoffs and with their momentum continuing to grow they should be able to get things done. Their next five games are against the likes of the Habs, Predators, Red Wings and Penguins, which all present winnable opportunities with their only tough challenge being the Avalanche. If they can win at least three of these five games that should give them a great enough lead that even if you don't believe they will make it, you can put a subtle bet on them now and cash out following the five-game stretch.
Things get tougher from there as they will have to play the Avalanche once again followed by tilts with the first-place Jets and the defending Western Conference Champion Oilers. This would be the point where if the Blues haven't locked things down yet, things may get hairy but don't be discouraged as they play their final two games against the Kraken and Utah, which are both winnable games.
The Flames have 13 games left with opportunities to overtake the Blues but they still have many challenging matchups like Stars, Kings, Oilers, Avalanche and a pair of games versus the Golden Knights. Vancouver will have the same challenges except they will have to take on the Jets instead of the Oilers. Utah Hockey Club could make a miraculous run and make they playoffs but they would also need to knock off the Jets, Stars and Kings plus will see serious contenders from the East in the Panthers and Bolts.
If everything breaks our way, we can feel confident about a return on investment by next Friday in a solid cash out offer for the Blues but if things go wrong we still will have very solid chances to get it done in the final games and makes this bet an absolute must if you want an easy return.